1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a female terminal inserted with a male terminal to electrically connect to the male terminal.
2. Related Art
A female terminal forms an electric connector of a female type by being contained in housings having various shapes and is provided with a connecting portion having a resilient strip portion forming a contact brought into contact with a male terminal when the male terminal is inserted. There are various modes in a resilient strip portion of a female terminal, for example, a pair of resilient strip portions in a strip-like shape which is supported in a shape of a cantilever by a tubular portion and in which respective faces thereof are opposed to each other and the faces are most proximate to each other at a front end portion thereof (for example, refer to JP-UM-A-6-72169, page 2, FIG. 1, FIG. 2), or a single or two resilient strip portions opposed to each other front end portions of which are folded back to an inner side (for example, refer to JP-A-8-321343 pages 2–3, FIG. 1, JP-A-9-82391, pages 4–5, FIG. 1, FIG. 4). Such a female terminal is provided with a tubular portion continuous to a side of one end portion of a resilient strip portion for supporting the resilient strip portion or incorporating the resilient strip portion other than the resilient strip portion. Further, there is provided an electric wire attaching portion attached with an electric wire continuous to the tubular portion, a protecting portion for covering a front end portion of the resilient strip portion to protect and the like as necessary.
Further, the female terminals are formed by bending one sheet of a formed conductive metal plate (for example, refer to JP-UM-A-6-72169, page 2, FIG. 1, FIG. 2, JP-A-8-321343, pages 2–3, FIG. 1, JP-A-9-82391, pages 4–5, FIG. 1, FIG. 4).
Meanwhile, when a female terminal is contained in a cavity of a housing, rattling of the female terminal in the cavity, that is, movement thereof for rotating around a rotational axis in a direction along a direction of inserting the female terminal into the cavity by bringing respective faces of a tubular portion of the female terminal into contact with wall faces partitioning the cavity. Further, depending on a shape or a size of a lance formed for locking a female terminal by one face of faces for partitioning a cavity, there is a case in which in the one face, rattling of the female terminal in the cavity is restricted only by a wall of the face extended in a projected shape bulged to the center of the face along two corner portion portions of the face partitioning the cavity.
Meanwhile, the corner portion of the tubular portion of the female terminal is constituted by a curved face by forming the tubular portion by bending one sheet of a formed conductive metal plate. Therefore, in the one face of the cavity, when rattling of the female terminal in the cavity is restricted only by the wall of the face extended in the projected shape bulged to the center along the two corner portion portions of the face partitioning the cavity, depending on a relationship between a width of the face of the wall on the side of the cavity extended in the projected shape and a diameter of the curved face of the corner portion of the tubular portion, the corner portion of the tubular portion of the female terminal is not brought into contact with the face of the wall extended in the projected shape of the cavity and therefore, there is a case in which movement of the female terminal in the cavity cannot be restricted and the female terminal is rattled in the cavity. When the female terminal is rattled in the cavity, when viewed from a cross-sectional face of the cavity, the female terminal is brought into a state of being inclined in the cavity to bring about a drawback such that a male terminal cannot be inserted thereinto or a state of locking the female terminal by the lance is released. Therefore, there is desired a female terminal which is difficult to rattle in a cavity regardless of a structure of a cavity such as a shape of a wall of a face partitioning the cavity.